To All the Kids Who Survived

 in the 1930's, 40's, 50's 60's and 70's!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank

while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can...

and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma , we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs

covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets

and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets,

not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats,

booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick-up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends from one bottle

and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-Aid

made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,

as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps

and then ride down the hill only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did NOT have Play Stations, Nintendo, X-boxes; no Video Games at all;

no 150 Channels on Cable, no Video Movies or DVD's; no “surround-sound";

no CD's, no Cell Telephones, no Personal Computers; no Internet or Chat-Rooms...!

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth

and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt

and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10^th birthdays,

made up games with sticks and tennis balls

and although we were told it would happen,

we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door

or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.

Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointments.

Imagine That!!!

The idea of a parent “bailing us out” if we broke the law

was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers,

problem solvers and inventions...ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovations and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility

and we learned How to Deal With it All!

If you are one of us...Congratulations!

You might want to share this with others

who have had the luck to grow up as kids,

before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives

'for our own good' !

Quote of the month by Jay Leno: “With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunder and lightning storms...

tearing up the country from one end to another

and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks...

are we sure this is a good time

to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?”

Merle Baird-Kerr

(written June 12, 2011)